


Entre Nous

by Writers_Muse



Series: One-Shots (And Two-Shots) ^_^ [18]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrigami is not endgame, Adrinette, Adrinette is not endgame, F/M, Heavy Salt, Just Me Raging at the Writers of MLB, Lukanette, Lukanette is endgame, Not A Fix-It, Post-Love Eater, Salt, Season 3 Spoilers, Spitefic, adrigami, spite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 08:36:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21033371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writers_Muse/pseuds/Writers_Muse
Summary: Marinette has learned Chat Noir's identity, and now that Adrien is with Kagami, she struggles with getting through the series of hits life keeps sending her way.





	Entre Nous

**Author's Note:**

> Heavy season 3 spoilers up to Love-Eater.
> 
> This is a fic written in spite lol. It's post Love-Eater, but since the part 2 doesn't air until tomorrow, I have absolutely no idea how compliant it will be with canon, so consider it canon divergent. In this one-shot (which happens to be the longest actual one-shot I've ever written, and I got through it in less than 24 hours), Marinette knows Adrien is Chat Noir, but he doesn't know she is Ladybug. Also, Adrien is together with Kagami, but their relationship isn't smooth sailing (because I hate Adrigami with a fiery passion). Luka offers her the solace Marinette needs, helping her to get through the challenges that threaten to take her miraculous away from her.

“Has anything ever happened to you that was so bad you just... don’t think you can ever go back to the way things were before?”

Alya’s jaw dropped as she turned to Marinette, the snack that was midway to her mouth forgotten. The girl with raven hair stared out into space, at nothing, eyes lost and unseeing.

“M... Marinette?” A concerned hand reached up to lightly grab her arm.

Marinette startled out of her trance with a shake of the head, a tiny glimmer in her eyes the only evidence of the tears she had just suppressed. She stood from where she was sitting on the steps outside the school and turned to face her friend, tightening her book bag strap over her shoulder.

“Gotta go, Alya. See you later.”

She made off to head down the steps.

“Marinette!”

Halfway down, she paused and debated whether she should turn around. If she did, there was a very real chance the concern in Alya’s eyes would start the waterworks in her own.

“Hey, wait, are you ok?”

She could hear and even feel her friend beginning to follow after her. She made a split second decision. Marinette’s feet flitted over the remaining steps with lightning speed and uncharacteristic dexterity.

“I will be, talk later!” she shouted back, ignoring Alya’s repeated calling of her name. Once she reached the sidewalk, she took off at a run straight for home.

Her book bag and purse bumped rhythmically against her hip in time with her rapid stride. She darted around pedestrians, quickly looking both ways before sprinting across the street. When she finally gained the safety of her own door, she wasted no time in turning the lock and jogging up to the apartment level. Luckily, her parents were both down in the bakery, and she would have a few hours on her own to process and calm down.

Closing her eyes, she leaned against the front door, one hand still grasping the straps of her bags. A subtle shift in her purse preceded the sensation of a small presence hovering before her. She didn’t even need to open her eyes to know it was Tikki.

“Marinette, we need to talk about this.”

Marinette exhaled but didn’t open her eyes.

“In a minute, Tikki. Just give me a minute.”

Even without looking at her, she knew the sprite was crossing her nubby limbs.

“Marinette, this is serious.” Her small, squeaky voice sounded stern, but there was a distinct undertone of worry. “You could lose your miraculous for this! You have to tell Master Fu!”

Despite the fact she had more to say, Tikki clammed up when Marinette’s eyes flashed open. The way the girl’s burning gaze settled on her, flinting like steel, shook her own resolve. The kwami swallowed out of nervousness- not fear, obviously, but a deep-rooted anxiety about what that flash of fire in her eyes meant.

“I’m not giving up anything,” the girl said defiantly. Her expression, her whole aura dared Tikki to challenge her.

“But, Marinette, now that you know Chat Noir is A-”

“I don’t know anything,” Marinette cut her off. There was a hard stubbornness in that sentence, something that demanded she be believed, that demanded what she said be true, despite evidence to the contrary.

“But you saw him detransform-”

“I didn’t see anything,” she repeated, then took off toward the stairs leading to her room. She didn’t even bother to walk around her kwami, knowing she could simply phase through matter, leaving Tikki stunned and hovering behind her. After a beat, the little god spun around and began flying after her charge.

“Marinette, we need to talk about this!”

Marinette halted more than halfway up the steps, but didn’t turn for several moments. When she did, she only pivoted the upper half of her body, her hand still poised on the railing, so that her face was the only thing fully facing the chasm behind her.

“I am Ladybug, no one else,” she declared vehemently, and there was that angry flash again behind her stare. “And no one, not Chat Noir, not  _ Adrien Fucking Agreste _ , is going to take that away from me!”

Mounting the final few steps, she opened the trapdoor with a whish and dropped it behind her.

Her magical partner hovered for a minute, gnawing anxiously on her lower lip, before phasing up through the door and quietly disappearing into Marinette’s top drawer.

It would be wise, she decided, to give the girl some time and space to think.

* * *

Denial and avoidance were Marinette’s coping mechanism of choice, apparently.

At least, that’s what Tikki surmised when she finally ventured out of her makeshift nest in the chest of drawers, only to find that her chosen was quite calmly sitting at her computer desk, working on her physics homework.

The kwami quietly nibbled on a cookie for a while beside the computer, waiting for the girl to turn around and acknowledge her. But after close to an hour, she realized she was playing a waiting game that she was destined to lose.

Marinette barely looked her way for the rest of the evening, didn’t even bother to say anything as she went downstairs when her parents called her to dinner. When she returned, she completed the rest of her homework, worked on some designs, made sure to turn on her akuma alarm, and crawled into bed.

The usual “Goodnight, Tikki,” was notably absent.

Still, Tikki was not dissuaded. She simply believed her emotional (and understandably so) chosen needed some time to go through all her reactions to the string of events they were going through. It didn’t help that each thing seemed to happen right after another, leaving even the demigod feeling emotionally disoriented.

First there was that weird three-way date she sort of accidentally ended up on on with Adrien and Kagami, the stealing of the miraculouses, Adrien’s kiss with Kagami, the battle with Hawkmoth, Mayura and Queen Bee, and the final straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back: seeing Chat Noir turn into Adrien.

She could deny it all she wanted, but it still happened.

A small voice niggled at the back of Tikki’s brain.

It wasn’t really her fault, so why was the rule so adamant about miraculous holders not keeping their jewelry once they learned about a fellow holder’s identity? It wasn’t like Marinette was going to suddenly forget once she was a civilian. And if Chat Noir wasn’t the one who knew about her identity, why should he be the one who got to keep his miraculous?

Tikki huffed lightly, her tiny shoulders slouching. It really wasn’t fair to her, or to Marinette. Not only did Marinette deserve to be Ladybug, she did it probably better than anyone else could. Taking it away from her wouldn’t be right.

The tiny red bug shook her head, dispelling those thoughts. It wasn’t her call to make- it was the guardian’s. And it was only fair to consider, too, that Marinette was partially responsible for the theft of the miracle box. Thought it pained her, Tikki knew she would accept whatever decision Master Fu made. It was the way things had to be.

The only thing she could do until Marinette became reasonable, then, would be to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t ignore the situation forever- if she did, it could have dire consequences.

* * *

“Watching over Marinette,” it turned out, was proving more baffling that Tikki thought it would.

Somehow, the girl managed to act as though nothing was wrong. When she woke up the next morning, Marinette cheerfully dressed and took off for school, making sure to pack enough cookies to keep Tikki comfortable.

Entering the classroom, she didn’t even glance Adrien’s way, electing to barely utter a “morning” in response to his more-upbeat-than-usual greeting. The blond boy didn’t seem phased by her sudden indifference, however, and turned back to the conversation he was having with Nino, smile and slightly faraway look still plastered on his face.

Alya, on the other hand, was not so easily pacified.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” the redhead called as her friend walked up toward their shared desk. “What is with you ignoring all my texts yesterday? I must have messaged you over ten times, but you didn’t give me a single answer! How can you tell me what you said yesterday and then just drop the subject?” The hurt was clear in her voice, which was a bit too loud for Marinette’s liking, but she didn’t reprimand her upset friend. Alya’s shoulders, which were tense around her neck, suddenly dropped. “I mean, Marinette, why can’t you tell me what happened to you that was so bad?”

Tikki, who was peeking out as best she could from Marinette’s purse without being seen (she wasn’t going to make  _ that _ mistake again), noticed that Adrien’s ears seem to twitch, and his complacence from before minutely transitioned into subtle attention.

Marinette’s eyes flickered briefly about as though aware of the attention they were drawing. She grabbed Alya’s wrist with a reassuring smile and led the girl, who had jumped up from her seat and stepped into the aisle when Marinette walked into the room, back to her chair. In a quiet voice, she responded.

“Alya, I promise, everything is ok. I’m sorry I made you worry. Now, please,  _ sit down. _ ”

The bespectacled girl reluctantly complied, but her expression spoke of her frustration. All the same, she had the presence of mind to look about and realize she was making a scene- and was making Marinette a little uncomfortable.

Alya shifted a little in her chair while Marinette took the one beside her. A glance told her Nino and Adrien were watching them out of the corners of their eyes while trying to appear as though they weren’t. She cleared her throat loudly, and the two of them immediately turned to face the front of the room. Marinette gave her a grateful smile and finished setting down her materials.

Leaning in, Alya lowered her voice enough that no one else could hear them and whispered in Marinette’s ear.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

The hesitation in her friend’s expression was clear. Her eyes shifted toward Adrien and back so quickly, if Alya blinked, she would have missed it. Subtle nervousness began to peek out from within, something which Marinette could not fully succeed in hiding, and she swallowed.

“Um, maybe we should talk about this later? Like, when we’re not in school?”

Alya narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips to the side.

“Is this about sunshine?” At least she was careful to whisper it quietly.

Her dark-haired friend sighed almost imperceptibly.

“Yes,” she said, but offered nothing more elucidating. “But that’s all I can say for now.”

Marinette smiled, but it was too wide, and it didn’t reach her eyes.

Alya raised an eyebrow and sat back, arms crossed over her chest. She knew this had to be something monumental, and it would likely have to be handled carefully. Just as she was about to agree, however, a light giggle from the desk in front of them caught her attention. She turned, distracted, and noticed Adrien holding his phone out for Nino to see.

“Look. It’s me and Kagami. Isn’t it a good picture?”

On the screen was an image of the two of them, a close-up view with Adrien smiling, his eyes looking toward the sky, while Kagami kissed him solidly on the cheek.

“We’re together now,” Adrien tacked on.

Tikki could see it from her spot near the floor. Alya’s eyes widened dramatically in slow-motion as the information sunk in, her arms gradually coming untangled and reaching for the armrests of her seat. Nino looked too surprised to move, but his girlfriend was already rising up out of her chair.

“Are you f-”

“-ucking kidding me?!”

The door of the classroom slammed open, a very angry Chloe Bourgeois standing beneath its frame, her cell phone held out in one hand, the picture of Adrien displayed on its screen.

One of Marinette’s elbows plopped loudly onto the desktop in front of her, her palm slapping rather gracelessly against her forehead with a groan.

“ _ Great _ .”

Surprised, Adrien visibly sat back, but quickly transitioned from astonishment to irritation.

“Chloe, how do you even have that picture?” he demanded, brows drawn low over his eyes. 

Alya watched, gaping, from where she stood.

The blonde girl stalked closer, Sabrina trailing in fearfully behind her, and glowered.

“Adrikins!” she snapped impatiently. “Everything you do on your phone gets sent to me, of course I have it!” The way she matter-of-factly stated this suggested that it made total sense and he should have known, when, obviously, it did not, and he did not.

Was it Alya’s imagination, or was Adrien glaring furiously at his long-time friend?

Marinette emerged from behind the veil of her hand, complete lack of willingness to deal with the whole situation written all over her features.

Adrien slowly stood from his seat, eye to eye against the other blonde.

“That’s an invasion of privacy!” he cried, and was that a hint of pink in his cheeks?  _ Ooh,  _ Alya wondered, curious,  _ what is sunshine boy hiding? _ “Not to mention, it’s illegal,” he continued. “I can’t believe you would do something so disturbing!”

Everyone in the class looked at each other for a second, everyone of them thinking it was completely believable.

Chloe breathed out roughly, not unlike a dragon exhaling steam from its nostrils. Then, she spun on her heel and stomped toward the door.

“Until you get rid of that hag, Adrikins, don’t even think of calling me your friend!”

And with that, she slammed the classroom door behind her.

Sabrina stared at the class, wide-eyed, then at the door as though unsure what to do. At last, common sense (or perhaps a fear of Chloe in full-fury) won out, and she meekly tip-toed to her desk.

Alya’s head cranked slowly toward Marinette, complete disbelief still shining out of her dramatically round eyes. The seated girl just looked back at her friend, chin resting on her palm.

Alya stood mute for a second, and then: “ _ Holy shit _ .”

* * *

The rest of the day passed without any more outbursts, but remained noticeably tense nonetheless. Adrien, who was only briefly taken down from his cloud, continued to gush about his new girlfriend to anyone who would listen, and Alya and Marinette simply observed from a safe distance.

At lunch, the two of them took their trays and sat on the end of an empty table, purposely far removed from the redhead’s significant other and his enthusiastic best friend.

“So, that’s what you didn’t want to tell me earlier?” Alya finally ventured, tearing open a packet of ketchup and squeezing it out onto the burger on her plate.

Marientte looked up from her vegetables, fork paused and poking through a few steamed green beans, then back down.

“Yep.”

She raised the utensil to her mouth and took a bite, eyes drifting off to some random point in the cafeteria. Alya huffed, offended, and replaced her bun.

“And how could you not tell me this sooner?”

The noirette’s eyes dropped to her plate again, unable to meet her friends’ own. She fiddled with the food for a second before aggressively stabbing some more green beans and raising them to her mouth. Her teeth closed over the plasticware with more force than necessary. She chewed thoughtfully for a moment.

“Because it’s like I said: there’s no going back. I can’t unknow, I can’t unsee, so all that’s left is moving forward.” She said it so simply, so assuredly, that anyone who didn’t know her would completely believe she meant it. But she also shrugged.

Alya chewed on her bite of burger, considering the girl before her. Then, she swallowed and said, “I don’t buy it.”

“Huh?”

Marinette’s head shot up from its bowed position studying her food. The way she looked at that chicken and vegetables, it was almost like the secrets of the universe were written in them.

“I don’t buy it,” her friend repeated, sounding surer this time.

She faltered momentarily, her gaze flickering across the cafeteria where Nino and Adrien sat, the latter of whom was showing his photos to another person in their grade, someone from a different homeroom. When she looked back, Alya was watching her, one brow arched as though to say, “I see you.”

The noirette dropped her eyes to her plate, then gave up pretense of trying to eat and set the fork down on its half-eaten mess.

“You have to. It’s the only chance I’ve got. If I don’t forget about Adrien Agreste, it’s all over for me. There are so many important parts of my life, and if I let him win, then they all suffer.” Marinette raised her gaze, meeting Alya’s head-on. “I love myself more than I ever loved him.”

* * *

Alya couldn’t argue with that, she really couldn’t. She always thought Marinette should put herself as a higher priority. She knew the girl was busy, knew she was always frazzled and running late, but never seemed to have enough time to do what she wanted to- not even taking into account the amount of time she spent obsessing over every knowable fact there was to learn about Adrien Agreste. It was a little scary sometimes just how intense her crush was, but Alya was a ride-or-die friend, dammit, and even if being Marinette’s best friend meant enabling her through a borderline-stalker infatuation, she was all-in.

To be honest, she was actually a little pissed that Adrien suddenly dropped his crush on Ladybug (which everyone knew he had) like it was a flaming bag of shit and moved on to making out with the ice-queen no one but Marinette had managed to ever feel comfortable around. She put a lot of hours into those schemes, after all, and had some serious bets hedged on the SS Adrinette finally setting sail (whether it was this year, or next year, or even a decade from now).

Still, she was also slightly relieved by this turn of events (once she got over the urge to smash Adrien’s face against a hard wall for a few minutes and tell him he really missed out on the most amazing girl, he should seriously get his eyes and his brain checked). Now that Marinette was resolved to leave behind her debilitating crush, things would hopefully be looking up.

They would have more time to hang out as friends, and Marinette might actually start letting those feelings for Luka that she’d been suppressing blossom into something promising... and reciprocated... and sustainable.

Speaking of which...

As the she walked out of the school’s front doors with Marinette, classes finally over for the day, a quiet gasp at her side caught Alya’s attention. One look at her friend, and she was directing her gaze at the street, where a certain blue-haired boy was sitting on his moped, a yellow delivery compartment strapped to the rear, one yellow helmet on his head, and another in his hand, outstretched toward her girl.

A little ways down the curb, Adrien’s hand was intertwined with Kagami’s as they walked together toward their chauffeured vehicles, which were parked one right in front of the other. The blond turned to smile at his girlfriend, then leaned in to peck her on the lips. Right then, a deep voice called out, “Marinette!”

Alya’s eyes flew automatically to the source of the call. Luka was waving the helmet now, and Marinette’s face split into a smile. She turned to her friend and briefly said, “Talk later, Alya,” before taking off at a run down the steps.

Adrien, it turned out, was distracted by the call, too, as his head whipped in the pair’s direction just in time to catch Marinette launching herself at the boy on the bike.

Alya watched, engrossed, her eyes rapidly flickering back and forth between the two pairs. To her inner delight, the smile on Adrien’s face fell a little, and he seemed to drop Kagami’s hand.

“Uh, Adrien?”

Kagami’s question was enough to draw his attention back to her, and he turned to answer just as Marinette pulled back from her and Luka’s shared embrace.

Adrien, on the other hand, no longer able to see what was happening, was beginning to feel a little perturbed. He gave Kagami one of his model smiles and saluted her goodbye before walking toward his own chauffeur and opening the door. As the girl’s red car pulled away from the curb, he stopped, one foot resting on the open door’s frame, and turned back to watch Marinette and Luka.

Luka smiled gently at the girl before him, memories of her distraught moment a few days before leaving an unpleasant sensation in his stomach. He knew how she felt about Adrien, and he knew what it did to her that the boy she loved was with someone else. Still, he wanted to be there for her, wanted to be the person she turned to when she needed someone to lean on for support. Out of the corner of his eyes, he detected the blond watching them. A twinge of jealousy pinched in his chest, followed by righteous anger.

Of course he knew Adrien liked Marinette. It was relatively obvious to anyone with eyes, even if the boy was largely oblivious to his own feelings. What right did that give him, though, to hurt her the way he did (even if it was done unintentionally), jilt her for someone else, and then question his own decision? Luka leaned in, brushing a lock of Marinette’s hair behind her ear, and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. What did he care if Adrien saw them? It was his loss. When he pulled back, the girl was blushing before his eyes.

Off to the side of his field of vision, he noticed the blond duck into the waiting car and close the door with a slam. It flashed silver as it pulled out and drove away.

“You want a ride home?” Luka asked, fully focusing on Marinette. She held his spare helmet in her hands, grinning widely.

“You know I live just down the street.”

Luka gave her a smile in return, grabbing the helmet gently from her hands and placing it over her head.

“Then I guess I’ll have to take the long way there.”

* * *

Marinette held onto Luka’s waist, her chin tucked over Luka’s upper arm as she was too short to rest it on his shoulder.

Even with the helmet on, she could feel a slight breeze rush past her ears. Her arms wrapped a little tighter around his body, his back flush against her front.

She rode with him on three deliveries before he ran out of assignments and had to head toward her home. They hadn’t broached the topic yet of her breakdown, and she wasn’t entirely sure if she wanted to. There was something comfortable about this, the fact that he understood her without her having to actually say anything. To not have to try  _ so hard _ because their interaction came easily, naturally- it was never forced. She breathed in deep as buildings flew by them, wondering whether or not Tikki would try to bring up the subject of Adrien/Chat Noir with her when she was safely ensconced in the privacy of her bedroom. God, she hoped not.

Luka’s head turned briefly her way, and she caught the deep resonance of his voice.

“What?” she asked, loudly so he could hear her.

“You ready to go home,” he said a little louder this time, “or do you want to go somewhere else first?”

Marinette inhaled and took her time, thinking. He didn’t rush her. Not even when they drove passed the street they would have taken toward the bakery.

Finally, she replied, “Surprise me.”

The side of Luka’s face was visible again for only a second, but it was long enough for her to catch the smile on his face. Then, with only a nod as an answer, he turned down a street, and she wondered where he was taking them.

A few minutes later, the canals came into view. Luka slowly brought his moped to a stop, and Marinette climbed off the back seat. It was strange, suddenly, not being wrapped around him. Her arms felt oddly bereft. She waited for Luka to dismount and put away his helmet before she handed him the one she had been wearing with a shy smile.

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand.

Though he was technically pulling her, there was nothing compulsory about they way she followed him. The quiet waters of the canal flowed under a bridge they alighted, its serene, green surface providing a perfect foil against the stones under their feet, the bright blue sky far above their heads.

As though moving in tandem, they both stopped at the highest point of the bridge, forearms coming out to rest comfortably side by side on the railing. It was quiet, for some reason, especially for a late summer day when there were always so many people walking about the streets. Marinette was thankful.

“Is there anything I can get for you, Marinette?”

Luka’s question brought her out of her own thoughts. She turned and looked at him as he watched her with his deep blue eyes, framed by that electric-tipped hair.

He didn’t ask her if she was ok, or if she wanted to talk. He knew if she did, that she knew she could, no questions needed. It warmed her heart.

As they stood there, a familiar chime drifted to her ears. The corners of Marinette’s mouth slowly drew up in a smile.

“I could go for some ice cream.”

* * *

Sure enough, when Marinette got home, in much better a mood than she was 24 hours before, Tikki peeked out of her purse, watching the girl warily.

“Marinette?” she questioned in her tiny voice. Bluebell eyes met bluebell eyes. “Are you ready to talk?”

The girl couldn’t help but roll her eyes, flopping back on her bed and staring at the ceiling. She took a deep breath, then released it.

“I’m in too good a mood to do this with you right now, Tikki.”

“Marinette,” the sprite cut in, flying over quickly to hover where her chosen was sprawled out. “You can’t avoid this forever.”

She sighed again and sat up, suddenly tired.

“There’s nothing to say, Tikki. I’m not giving up my miraculous. I haven’t done anything wrong.” The frustration was clear in her voice, in the way her shoulders tensed up around her neck, in the line of her neck as she arced her head back with an exasperated noise. There were a few seconds of silence. “If Master Fu were to come and ask for it back, I guess I would have no choice. But I’m not going to go offer it just like that. If that’s selfish, then I’m sorry, but dammit, I think for once I deserve to be a little selfish.” She straightened her neck again and faced her kwami, expression sad but determined. “So, unless you go tell Master Fu yourself or take the earrings off of me, there’s no way I’m giving them up.”

Tikki nibbled on her lip distractedly, weighing her options.

At last, she gave Marinette a grim, resigned half-smile.

“You know I would never do that, Marinette.”

Marinette’s shoulders slumped, relieved, her eyelids momentarily sliding shut before reopening to reveal deep pools of blue.

“Thank you, Tikki.”

* * *

Marinette walked with a great deal of determination toward the school’s courtyard, Tikki’s words echoing in her ears.

_ “But that doesn’t mean you can act like nothing’s changed! You’re more at risk than ever, now, which means that Chat Noir is, too!” _

Footsteps echoed through the corridor, the clang of lockers somewhere down the hall. The light sound of metal on metal tingled in her eardrums.

_ “Hawkmoth has been getting bolder, and that means his methods are going to get more and more desperate. You have to be ready! You can’t find yourself at a disadvantage ever again! Even if you were to lose your miraculous in a fight, you have to be prepared to win it back!” _

“Hyah!” Grunts, and squeaks of rubber shoes, and shouted orders. The muted thud of something hard slapping a thick, soft material.

_ “You need to be capable of wearing any miraculous, to get more comfortable with its strengths, to figure out its weaknesses. You have to be able to use whatever is available to you so that, no matter what, you come out on top!” _

“En garde!”

_ “Promise me, Marinette!” _

“Prets?”

_ “Swear on your miraculous, you will not fail!” _

“Allez!”

The tang of sweat was slick on her tongue as Marinette emerged out in the open. A few dozen or so faceless people parried about at different parts of the space, masks hiding their identities in a way she found ironically relatable, the white of their outfits providing a sense of uniformity, of anonymity, except for one splash of read in an otherwise spotless sea.

Marinette halted in place, clenching her bag a little tighter. As she waited, a few of the fencers noticed her presence and stopped, curious. It didn’t take more than a few minutes for her to catch the attention of Monsieur D’Argencourt.

The disciplined, mustached man did a double take before sauntering her way.

“Keep practicing!” he shouted in his no-nonsense tone, and immediately, all halted action resumed. Marinette watched as he ambled closer, looking her over measuredly. When he arrived at a reasonable distance, he stopped and paused, then pronounced, “Young lady, this is a space is reserved for private lessons. I’m afraid you’ll have to be on your way.”

The small girl looked him over but didn’t react right away, surprising him.

“Young lady-” he began again, but was interrupted.

“I want to join fencing,” Marinette announced. A few curious onlookers, taking advantage of the instructor’s lack of attention, quietly stalked closer.

D’Argencourt looked her over again, more critically this time.

“I’m sorry,” he said at last, but there are no open spots on this team. Perhaps you can find room for beginners somewhere else.”

Then he spun around and would have returned to his pupils, except that Marinette wasn’t finished.

“I challenge you.”

The middle-aged man halted mid-stride, pivoting slowly on his heel to face her.

“Pardonnez moi?”

The noirette carefully lowered her bags to the ground and squared her shoulders. Nearly all of the fencers in the courtyard were looking their way now.

“I challenge you,” she repeated. “I want a spot in this group. Therefore, I challenge you. If I win, you will mentor me.”

D’Argencourt turned the rest of his body until he was fully facing her, arms crossed over his chest.

“What makes you think I’ll accept your challenge?” One of his eyebrows arched inquisitively.

Marinette lifted her chin and refused to look at the red-suited fencer or her partner, who were stalking closer.

“Because you’re a man of honor,” she answered simply. “You’d never refuse a challenge given sincerely.”

He stood there, expression unreadable, for what felt like an eternity. At last, he responded.

“All right, young lady. You will have your match. But the conditions will be slightly altered.”

“Oh?”

D’Argencourt gave her a wry smirk.

“Not one of my students can beat me, therefore, I think it only fair to match you up against someone more within your... reach.”

Marinette swallowed, but nodded.

“Ok. I agree.”

The older man smiled.

“Kagami,” he called, and the red fencer approached.

“Yes, monsieur.”

“Take the young lady to get outfitted, please. And let your partner know he has a match to prepare for.”

Kagami bowed briefly before taking Marinette’s hand in her own and leading her toward the locker rooms.

Marinette sighed and resisted the urge to look back, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

* * *

“Marinette, I’m... I’m sorry if we hurt your feelings.”

Kagami was busy pulling various bits of gear and protective clothing out from an open locker. At various points, she handed selections to the other noirette, prompting her to dress as quickly as possible. At the haltingly spoken words, Marinette lifted her head from an awkward piece of padding but was only met with the sight of Kagami’s back.

She hesitated, thinking.

“Would you do it again?”

Kagami’s movements stuttered momentarily, then resumed.

“Yes,” she said into the metal storage space.

Marinette shoved a foot through a hole in a pant leg.

It stung her heart, but she pushed the feeling down.

“Then don’t be sorry.”

* * *

When she finally emerged, all decked out in complete fencing guise, much like the day she first met Kagami, Marinette was surprised to find that her limbs were not shaking with nervousness, not even with adrenaline. All she could think was that she felt calm, relieved even. This was something she should have done all along- get comfortable with all forms of combat, especially after she ended up fighting with her partner’s miraculous and realized he was much better suited for it. It wasn’t even the last time she ended up using a different miraculous, so she knew that she should have had more foresight, should have prepared for the unexpected.

Walking out into the courtyard was another experience. The group of white bodies parted for her, revealing a single stand-out surrounded by a circle of faceless individuals. Even with the mask in the way, the shape of his body, his posture, even the way he held his foil in his left hand instead of his right screamed Adrien. But Marinette swore to herself she would not be intimidated. And she found herself thankful she had jokingly fenced a little with Chat Noir, using a metal pole against his magical baton, a few times when they had gotten bored on patrol. He taught her a few important stances and techniques, which she was thanking her lucky stars (and charm) for.

D’Argencourt called out to his pupils, and they all stepped back, giving her and Adrien a wide clearance.

The both of them got into position on command and waited for the order to fight.

Marinette moved first, initiating the match. It was something Chat Noir taught her, to help set her opponents off balance and on the defensive. It was more difficult to score a touch while fighting them off.

Adrien parried and countered her strikes, seeming to treat her carefully at first, but becoming slightly more aggressive when she didn’t prove too easy to defeat right away. Before long, he was lunging first after a reset, and Marinette was fighting off his attacks. They were 4-4 when she saw his foil coming her way and, knowing she couldn’t strike it out of the way in time, reactively spun to avoid it in a manner Chat Noir had shown her before. When she did so, though, she felt her ankle twist slightly, and she staggered, releasing a quiet grunt.

Adrien faltered, his foil hesitating in the air as she regained her balance and extended her arm, touching his torso with the tip of her foil. The weapon bent slightly, wobbling from the impact for just a split second.

Silence hovered throughout the courtyard for several seconds in which neither her, nor Adrien, nor anybody else moved. Then, the spectators started cheering in surprise.

Her opponent stood up to full height, and Marinette realized she was still crouched, knees slightly bent, ready. With one gloved hand, Adrien reached up and removed his mask, then tucked it under his arm and shoved his glove inside of it. He held out his bare hand in Marinette’s direction with a small smile.

“That was a great match, Marinette,” he said.

Finally aware of herself, she copied his position, reluctantly accepting his gesture. She couldn’t help glancing in Kagami’s direction, though the girl’s face was impassive as ever. She quickly returned her gaze to the person before her.

But something was bothering her.

“But, Adrien,” she said, stepping closer. The blond mirrored her movement and leaned in. “What happened?” Marinette couldn’t help but ask. “Why did you hesitate at the end? You would have had me.”

The confusion in her eyes was genuine, and she couldn’t figure out what cloudy emotions were playing out behind his.

He gave her one of his practiced smiles.

“I don’t know. But you won fair and square. I’m really impressed, Marinette.” Then his face softened. “You’re really amazing.”

Realizing he was still holding onto her hand, Marinette retracted it and took a step back. His eyes flickered with something she couldn’t name.

Another step, and she stumbled a little, the sharp keen in her ankle reminding her of how she twisted it just minutes before.

“Are you ok?” Adrien reached out with both arms to support her. “I saw you twist your ankle when you evaded my attack.” Then he frowned. “Where did you learn that, by the way? It felt really familiar.”

Marinette tried to give a fake laugh, but it sounded hollow. She pulled out of his grip, ignoring the twinge in her boot.

D’Argencourt chose that moment to come unwittingly to her rescue, stepping in front of Adrien and effectively blocking his view.

“Well, young lady, you’ve surprised me in a very promising way!” He grabbed her bare hand and shook it firmly. “I’ll be looking forward to seeing how you perform in the future!”

Marinette grinned, though it took effort, and nodded as she backed away slowly.

“Thank you, monsieur. I’ll be very excited to learn as much as I can from you.”

The tall, thin man nodded abruptly and turned back to the rest of the group.

“All right! Everyone back to work!”

The white bodies scrambled about, hastily pulling masks over their face and returning to their previous partners and places. Marinette turned and headed toward the locker room again to change. Once inside, she sent picked up her phone and realized she had a few missed messages. Absent-mindedly, she tucked the gloves she had worn into a locker and set the mask on a nearby bench, scrolling through her notifications.

There were three messages from Alya, one from her parents, a couple from some of her other classmates about a group project, and...

Marinette smiled and set the phone down, clumsily sitting and climbing out of the thick, awkward clothing. Once freed, she retrieved the phone again and sent off a quick message.

With only a slight limp, the girl walked out of the locker rooms, only to be surprised by a waiting Adrien outside the doorway.

“A- Adrien?” she asked, visibly taken aback.

“Marinette.” He shifted back and forth anxiously, his eyes a bit unfocused. “Are- are you ok? I saw you limp just now. Did you hurt yourself?”

She frowned, shaking her head.

“I’m fine, but aren’t you supposed to be practicing right now?”

“I told D’Argencourt I was getting water,” he answered with the flippant wave of a hand. She nodded, not knowing what else to do.

“Well, I really should be going. My ride will be here in a minute.”

Marinette started walking toward the exit, wincing only slightly as she attempted to disguise her discomfort.

“Wait!” A hand held onto her arm, and she turned in surprise. “Can I help you?”

Both her eyebrows flew to her hairline.

“What are you going to do, carry me? I’ll be fine.”

“I can do that!” Adrien practically shouted. Marinette’s eyes grew wide.

“Uh, no that’s- really, that’s ok. I don’t-”

“Adrien.”

Both of them whirled in the direction of the courtyard, a vision of red walking toward them.

“D’Argencourt is wondering where you are.”

“Ah, I-”

“Marinette!”

This time, three pairs of eyes flew to the entry, where a certain blue-haired delivery boy was standing. He waved excitedly and jogged in their direction.

“I was helping Juleka out with something for a class and ran right over when I got your message.”

Luka scooped Marinette up in his arms and twirled her around, causing her to giggle and shriek.

“Congratulations, ma petite ange. I knew you could do it.”

His wide grin beamed up at her as she looked down at him. Slowly, he lowered her to the ground but didn’t completely let go, keeping her full weight off her foot. A clearing throat attracted both their attention.

Kagami was staring at them, smirking. Adrien, on the other hand, was looking a little testy, his face slightly red.

“Oh, right. Thanks for the offer, Adrien, but Luka’s going to take me home.”

Luka spun around then until his back was facing Marinette and crouched.

“You ready for this ride?” he asked playfully. Marinette giggled and hopped up on his back. His strong hands caught onto the back of her knees as she wrapped her arms over his shoulders and neck, and he hoisted her higher.

They faced the other two people for a moment, and Marinette smiled.

“See you later,” she said, then waved. Luka took off at a sprint toward the front doors, spreading his arms out wide and imitating the sound of an airplane while she clung to him and laughed.

Adrien watched them go, clenching a fist at the tightening in his chest.

Kagami looked between him and the disappearing pair, wondering if there was ever going to be a time when she didn’t have to compete for Adrien’s attention.

* * *

“You know, you and Luka have been looking pretty chummy lately~” Alya teased as she walked alongside Marinette. They passed by an open classroom door on their way to the lockers, arms full of books they needed to exchange for other subjects.

“Yea,” her friend replied, stupid smile lighting her face. Alya nudged her a little on the shoulder. “And what about a certain blond boy whom we shall not name?”

Marinette snorted and shook her head, correcting herself quickly after she tripped on nothing.

“What is he, Voldemort?”

The redhead beside her rolled her eyes and kept walking.

“Real smooth, girl. You know what I’m talking about. How’s the progress on that front?”

The smaller girl tilted her head back and forth a few times, considering, then shrugged.

“It’s going. Adrien Agreste is no longer the center of my world. It’s about time, right?”

Alya threw her head back and laughed, then followed behind her friend as they walked into the locker room.

Neither of them noticed a stunned blond standing, frozen, half a dozen feet away.

* * *

“Hey, Nino, did you know Marinette had a crush on me?”

The bespectacled boy choked on the water he was drinking and began coughing spastically. Using a fist, he beat his chest until he could at least half-breathe again. His slightly red, watery eyes studied Adrien as he stood just on this side of the doorway.

“Uhhh,” Nino hesitated, not wanting to reveal anything he wasn’t supposed to. “Say what?”

Adrien rolled his eyes and stepped closer. No one but the two of them were in the classroom, so he had at least another minute or two before everyone started trickling in from the passing period.

“Who am I kidding? You’re with Alya, of course you know.” With a dejected thud, the fair-haired boy plopped down in the chair beside his friend. He stared into space, entire being withering like a flower past its prime.

“Ahhh, well... I mean... yea.”

Adrien nodded, faraway look plaguing his eyes.

“I overheard them talking, accidentally of course.” A pause, an inhale, a held breath, a release. “But... why didn’t anyone ever tell me?” 

The way he said it sounded so small, Nino felt the tension in his body melt, seep down his trunk, and out through his fingertips. His shoulders slumped forward heavily, and he sighed.

“Sorry, mec,” he said, quiet. One of his hands lifted silently and landed on Adrien’s back. “It wasn’t our place to say.”

Adrien nodded. Even though he didn’t necessarily agree, he understood. He knew it was only Marinette’s right and responsibility to talk to him, and by all logic, she didn’t owe him an explanation of any kind. Still, he couldn’t help but feel cheated, lied to, like he missed out on something without even realizing it until it was gone.

“But, hey,” Nino broke into his thoughts. Both the laid-back boy’s arms lifted outward in a gesture. “You’ve got Kagami now, right? So everything worked out.” The smile he offered was a reassuring one, but Adrien couldn’t find it in himself to feel comforted. He stared at the floor.

“Yea,” he confirmed after a moment, but it didn’t feel very genuine. “That’s true.”

Nino brought his arms down and rested his elbows on his knees, leaning his center of gravity forward. He studied his friend, but Adrien didn’t return his gaze.

“You are... happy, right? Adrien?”

The boy raised his head and gave another of his practiced smiles. Why was he doing that so often lately?

“Yea, Nino. I’m happy.”

* * *

“Marinette!”

The girl with raven hair twirled around at the sound of her name, searching for whoever was calling her. Within a few seconds, she realized there was a blond boy jogging up to her as she exited the lockers. Students milled passed them in the hallway, making quite a din from so many conversations piled on top of each other. But his eyes had already caught hers; she had already turned around at the sound of his voice and couldn’t pretend not to have heard him.

He trotted up to where she was standing, and she waited.

“Hey,” he greeted breathily.

“Hey,” she echoed.

“Do you, uh, do you have a minute?”

His eyes flicked toward the locker room she had just exited. She copied the motion automatically but didn’t do anything else.

“Um, well, actually, Luka’s going to be here any minute-”

Her words were cut off by a mild jolt as Adrien took her by the hand and pulled her back into the locker room behind him. Frowning, she followed reluctantly and waited for him to face her once he’d close to the windows. A few students straggled before leaving them alone. Marinette kept watching him, confused and curious. That something indecipherable was flashing behind his eyes again.

“Adrien?”

“Don’t... go with him, Marinette.”

Her brow furrowed a little deeper.

“Why not? What’s it to you?”

Adrien groaned in frustration, his head falling back briefly, exasperated, before looking back at her again.

“Marinette, why did you never tell me... that you liked me?”

She hadn’t exactly been moving, but she froze all the same. Her face felt hot and cold at the same time, her hands turned clammy. Adrenaline began to course through her veins as her defensive instincts decided how to deal with this threat. Marinette clenched her fists as her sides and closed her eyes, then took a deep breath to calm her own reaction. When she opened them again, he was still watching her closely.

A thousand and one responses flashed through her mind.

“Why does it matter?”

She didn’t consciously choose this particular question, but it emerged victorious all the same. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew it was the right thing to say.

Adrien looked taken aback.

“What?”

“Why does it matter?” she repeated, surer this time. “My feelings are mine, and you have a girlfriend now. We’re friends, Adrien, but I don’t owe it to you to tell you everything there is to know about me.”

His jaw ticked, his eyes hardened.

“But it has to do with me, too.”

“No, it doesn’t.” There was a shocked hesitation on his end, and Marinette continued. “It had to do with me, and my feelings, and what I’m comfortable telling or not telling to the people I choose to confide in. There are plenty of personal things I’ve shared with you in the past, but that doesn’t obligate me to share everything with you all the time. I have my own reasons, and I don’t owe it to you to tell you what they are unless I want to.”

Adrien looked positively stupefied. His jaw hung slightly, exposing the dark pink of his tongue, a hint of white that came from his teeth.

“Besides, Adrien,” she added after a moment of heavy silence, “I don’t think your girlfriend would be comfortable knowing we’re having this conversation, do you?”

There was a vacant lack of recognition in Adrien’s stare, like he was trying to add 2 and 2 but kept getting 13. His brows drew low over his eyes as he processed what Marinette said.

“Girlfriend?”

“Kagami.”

A dim light of recollection flashed over his features.

“Right.” He swallowed. “Kagami.”

Why did that name leave such a heavy weight in his stomach?

Marinette’s phone vibrated, a loud sound in the awkward stillness of the locker rooms. Nearly everyone in the hallways had already trickled outdoors, leaving the two of them to their own uncomfortable situation.

She lifted it, the brightness of the screen briefly reflecting in her bluebell eyes. A soft smile stole over her lips. She looked up at Adrien again, by all appearances suddenly forgetting the tension of the moment.

“I have to go,” she told him, her head cocked just slightly to the side, that angelic smile still in place. “I’ll see you later.”

And with that, she turned and trotted excitedly out of the room, leaving Adrien to plop listlessly onto a nearby bench, his head in his hands.

* * *

“You know, sunshine boy has been in a weird funk all week,” Alya said, almost in passing, a few days later. Marinette gripped her lunch tray and lifted it off the counter so they could head toward a table.

“What do you mean?”

The girl’s hazel eyes looked at her briefly, disbelieving, before traveling back in the direction of the blond boy they were discussing. He sat beside Nino and several other of their classmates, but he was staring down at his lunch as though it was completely unappetizing. After playing with the greens for a minute with his fork, he dropped the utensil on the plate and began staring off into the distance instead.

“I mean:  _ that. _ ”

Marinette shrugged and ignored the twinge in her chest. She followed Alya to their own mostly empty table and sat across from the redhead.

“Did something happen with you two?”

The girl’s question caught Marinette off-guard, and she whipped her head up.

“What? What do you mean?”

Alya shrugged, glancing off again in Adrien’s direction while she took a bite of roasted potato, then chewed thoughtfully for a minute before returning to her food.

“All I know if he was all sunshine and rainbows at the beginning of the week, and then you started hanging out with Luka, and now the boy acts like somebody stole his kitten.”

Marinette coughed at the analogy, taking a sip of water to wash down the food that nearly ended up trapped in her windpipe.

“I- I don’t know,” she said. There was a flush in her cheeks that she was fighting. “But I’m sure whatever it is, Nino is there for him.”

Her friend nodded but didn’t respond, though she didn’t exactly look convinced.

“I’m sure you’re right.”

* * *

When the next week rolled around, and Adrien only continued to fall further into his funk, Marinette began to feel concerned. It only made matters worse that she was quite enjoying her new closeness with Luka, whom she saw and spent time with nearly every day.

The day for fencing lessons finally arrived, and it was with more than a little nervousness that she walked toward the lockers to change. Seeing a head of short blue-black hair, though, reminded her that, even if Adrien was going through something, she wasn’t the first, or even the second, person he would turn to. He had Nino, and he had Kagami.

“H- hi, Kagami,” Marinette ventured as she ambled up beside the already-dressed girl. When the fencer turned to her, there was something like frustration shining out of her usually neutral stare.

“Hello, Marinette,” she returned, then made to walk in the direction of the courtyard, but stopped suddenly. “Uh, have you... talked to Adrien lately?”

Marinette halted in the middle of putting away her stuff, then resumed.

“Uh no- not since sometime last week,” she answered. A paused. “Why do you ask?”

Behind her, she could hear the girl give a frustrated sigh.

“He’s been avoiding me for days. I thought you might know what was wrong.”

Marinette swallowed, thankful Kagami couldn’t see her face.

“S- Sorry. I have no idea.”

“All right.” Her voice sounded so resigned, it made Marinette feel a little guilty. “Thanks, anyway.”

Then the quiet scuff of her boots slowly became more distant and dissipated into nothing.

* * *

“Marinette!”

Said girl looked about the sea of masked faces, wondering who was calling her name. She stood in the entryway of the courtyard, masked helmet tucked under her arm, foil held in a gloved hand.

A white arm suddenly reached upward, waving almost frantically at her. She blinked, confused, prompting the owner of the arm to reach up and lift his mask. Adrien’s smiling face greeted hers.

“Hey, Marinette, you made it,” he said, jogging closer. How did he manage to sound so pleased when he’d been the epitome of a lonely rain cloud for almost an entire week?

A flash of red caught her eye, and she realized with a start that Kagami, hidden by her mask, was facing their direction, watching.

“Uh, yea, of- of course, I did,” she replied, then took a step back when he stopped a little too close.

“Do you want to partner up with me?”

Marinette couldn’t help but stare, so like an excited puppy did he seem. Once again, she flicked her gaze toward Kagami and back, not sure what she should do.

“Ah, don’t you usually practice with Kagami?”

Adrien waved a hand flippantly.

“D’Argencourt wants us to change our combat partners sometimes to prevent us from getting stuck in the same attack and defense patterns.” He shrugged. “You can be my new partner.”

Her heart was racing in her chest, but she didn’t know what to say.

“So, are you really serious about fencing?” he continued, apparently happy just to talk to her.

Marinette’s eyes shifted anxiously between him and Kagami, who was now making her way toward them.

“Ah, yea, of course. I’m enrolling in all types of training now. Fencing. Kung Fu. Even archery.”

“Wow! Really? That’s amazing, Marinette!”

A clearing throat prompted him to turn around. Kagami’s red suit stood out like blood on clean linen.

“I’ll be Marinette’s partner,” she announced. Adrien practically started, the smile falling right off his face.

“B- but I already said she could practice with me.”

Kagami lifted her mask, giving Adrien a hard look.

“Marinette needs a real challenge,” she stated coolly. “I think we can agree your judgment when it comes to her is a little... clouded.”

The blond’s face turned a faint red.

“B- but-”

Just then, D’Argencourt entered the area with a loud, percussive clap.

“Partner up!”

Seeing the three of them standing around indecisively, he stalked in their direction.

“Kagami! See if you can’t teach Miss Dupain-Cheng something valuable today. Agreste, come with me! You’ve been slipping lately.”

The boy’s shoulders visibly slumped, and he trod with much less enthusiasm toward his instructor.

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived.

“Marinette.”

Kagami’s voice caught her attention.

“Yes?”

A few seconds passed in which the red fencer said nothing. Then:

“Show me your form. There’s nothing more damaging to a fencer’s technique than poor form.”

The pigtailed girl sighed again, resisting the urge to smile, and got into position.

* * *

When Marinette walked into the classroom a few days later, Alya practically accosted her.

“Marinette!” she whisper-shouted, grasping onto the noirette’s arm and pulling her back out into the hall, much to Adrien’s frowning consternation. Still, he remained in his seat, talking, albeit more distractedly, with Nino.

The door shut behind them, and but Alya pulled her friend a little further down the hall just for insurance.

“Uh, Alya? You realize the bell’s going to ring any minute, right?”

The redhead made a face and a  _ psh _ , waving carelessly at the air.

“That’s at the bottom of my priorities right now. You wanna know what’s topping them, girl?” Marinette only stared, waiting, with rounded eyes. Alya took a breath for control and paused dramatically. “Word is... Adrien’s single again.”

“What?!”

Marinette’s sudden exclamation surprised even herself. She reactively hunched in on herself, a hand coming up to muzzle her self-willed mouth.

Alya was nodding, a sly gleam in her eyes.

“Yep. From what Nino says, he and Kagami just weren’t meshing as a couple. He decided they worked better as friends and called it quits with her yesterday.”

“Bu- He-” she stuttered, at a loss as to how to respond. “But it’s only been a couple of weeks!”

“I know!” There was a mixture of wonder and amusement in Alya’s voice, prompting her friend to frown a little. “What? Adrien doesn’t seem broken up about it. Besides,” here her face turned mischievous, “I’m sure he’ll tell you all about it himself~” Marinette narrowed her eyes at the girl in front of her, shaking her head. “What? You can’t say this doesn’t changes things-”

“It doesn’t change anything.” Alya raised her brows but said nothing. “It doesn’t! There’s more standing between Adrien and I than whether or not he’s with Kagami. I already told you, there’s just no going back for me, no matter what happens.”

Her friend crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall.

“Maybe you don’t need to go back. Maybe it’s enough for you to move forward. Together.”

Marinette released a sigh and readjusted the strap on her shoulder.

“This  _ is _ me moving forward. It’s just not going to be with Adrien. Now come one, class is starting soon.”

As if on cue, a bell rang overhead.

“All right,” Alya conceded and followed behind her friend, who was moving toward the door. She couldn’t help tacking on, “So, does this have anything to do with Luka?”

Marinette paused in her tread, half-twisting around at the waist to look at her friend. A pleased, excited smile descended on her features.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

* * *

The rest of the day went by relatively uneventfully. Marinette didn’t fail to notice that Adrien seemed more attentive to and aware of her than usual, but she didn’t say anything about it.

It wasn’t until after the dismissal bell as she was gathering her belongings from her locker that he approached her.

“Hey,” he said, visibly a bit nervous. She cocked her head to view him, then went back to shoving books in her bag.

“Hi, Adrien.”

“Marinette, can we... can we talk?”

As foreboding as those words were, she couldn’t find it in herself to push him away. Closing up her bag and her locker, she took a seat on the bench and patted the space beside her. Adrien complied with her invitation and lowered himself down to the spot.

Marinette waited patiently for him to begin.

“I’m sure you’ve already heard about... me and Kagami.”

She nodded.

“Right, well, the thing is, Kagami and I didn’t really... fit. We’re good as friends, but somehow being in a relationship with her, I guess I realized that friendship is the farthest my feelings for her go.”

He paused, but she remained silent.

“See, the thing is..." and here he trailed off, clearly nervous, if the way his fingers fidgeted in his lap were any indication. “Whenever I was with Kagami, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about... you. Comparing her to you. Wishing she were... you.”

His emerald eyes burned into hers, begging her to understand, to say something, anything. Marinette inhaled long and deep, then let it out in one gust, placing a hand over his.

“Adrien, I’m really honored that feel that way about me, but I can’t return your feelings.”

His whole face fell, but he didn’t look away.

“Am I too late?”

She sucked in a breath, debating how to answer.

“No,” she finally said on an exhale. “I was. I never said anything, and the opportunity passed by. Now, we can’t go back. We can only look forward.”

Adrien swallowed thickly, his gaze falling to his restless hands.

“Are... are you and Luka... are you together now?”

Even though he wasn’t looking at her, or perhaps because he wasn’t, Marinette gave him a pitying half-smile.

“No, we’re not. But maybe, hopefully, in the near future, we could be.”

The boy sharing her bench nodded, his bodily movement travelling down his arm and brushing up against her own.

“I can’t say I’m happy about that,” he admitted. “But if you’re happy, then I’m happy at least that you are.”

Marinette wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug, surprising him, but he welcomed it all the same.

“Thank you, Adrien.”

She pulled away slowly and gave him a kind smile.

“Anytime, Marinette. I’ll always be here.”

* * *

Marinette trotted down the steps, her bag slung over her shoulder, and waved excitedly at the boy waiting for her by the curb.

“Luka!”

His bright blue eyes shined in the sunlight as he lifted his head in her direction, beaming smile breaking out across his face.

“Marine-” he began, but was cut off by the force of her flying into his arms. “Good day?” he asked, amusement ringing clear in his voice. She pulled back, grinning.

“It is now that you’re here.”

A faint blush stole over his cheeks, and he cleared his throat, lifting the yellow helmet in his hands and placing it carefully over her hair.

“Where to, ma petite ange?”

She climbed onto the seat behind him and wrapped her arms around his middle. He shifted to the side and twisted part way around so that they could each see the other’s face.

Marinette’s grin spread even wider.

“Surprise me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! I don't usually write episode-themed stories, so I tried to stay away from a "fix-it" thing and mostly just wrote a "MLB writers are so frustrating, so take this shit and shove it" story ;P
> 
> Truthfully, there are so many points in the story and threads that could have led to a much longer fic, and multiple times I had to resist the urge to draw out the plot and make it more complicated, but my intention was always to write this as a one-shot, so I refrained!
> 
> Please, if you liked it, leave me a comment and maybe some kudos. Everything I receive warms my heart and keeps me writing.
> 
> <3! Muse


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